Change your energy supplier now!!!

[Phil Pascoe]

I just had notification from my electricity supplier that if I did not change my account it would revert to a standard tariff, and go up from £894 (no gas, economy 7 ) to












£1823. :shock: :shock: :shock: Considering the time it takes on the phone to energyhelpline (or another comparison site) I would need to be earning about three grand an hour to ignore this. Just make sure you have your consumption figures, existing energy account number(s), bank account number and sort code handy (if you want to pay by a DD).
Incidentally, for paying slightly higher standing charge I got a price fixed until Jan 2019 with no exit penalties.

 

[transatlantic]

Firstly - gosh darn! ... I take it you're using storage heaters?

Secondly - I assume this is because you came to the end of your contract? so the timing of this would be different for everyone.

Thirdly - They could only put you onto a rolling contract with that right?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

No, but we use quite a lot of hot water. In most cases you can at any time but there may be a penalty clause - mine runs out on 31/12 so I escaped the £30 penalty. My tariff will be renegotiated or my supplier changed in Jan 2019 - I pay slightly more to fix for the longer term - I can't see energy going down in 12 - 18 months, and in any case in this instance if I choose to change there is no penalty. No, it's not a rolling contract - I had the option with this supplier to fix for 14 months or for 26 - for the small extra cost I thought it wise to pick the 26 month. The system is licensed robbery, really - they have to be competitive so make those who don't hunt about subsidise those that do.

 

[Adam9453]

I'd take those figures with a pinch of salt Phil.
I used to be a utility consultant for several years and I saw renewal letters from various suppliers quoting similar ridiculous increases if a new contract wasn't arranged.
The most important thing is to understand how all the pricing works and relates to your energy usage, its then easy to compare the various offers and determine which is the best for you. Don't trust the comparison companies recommendation or figures because I have known them to be creative with the way they calculate different offers to make the favoured supplier (i.e. the one that pays the most commission to them) seem the most attractive.
I agree about the way energy is headed, its pretty much only ever going to increase unless there are some drastic changes to generation or the way our UK gas and electricity pricing is fundamentally based on the wholesale price of oil!
Anyway, its like insurance or any ongoing service contract, keep reviewing it every year to ensure you are on the best deal. It can save you a lot of money.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I take your point but -
You consumed
8,716 kWh (kilowatt hours)
Calculations include estimated readings.
Your total costs were
£894
If you use the same amount of energy over the next 12 months
and remain on your current tariff, we estimate your costs will be
£1,823

Seems fairly definite to me.

 

[Harbo]

I recd a letter recently from my supplier (gas & electricity) saying my monthly payment would be going up from £85 to £154!
Hunted around online, went back to my supplier and got a new fixed rate of £88 which was much cheaper than the other quotes.
All designed to get you to change I think?

Rod

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Don't wish to hijack the thread in anyway.

I've switched to Good Energy. Similar pricing to EDF. Linked to National Trust and they generate their electricity from renewable sources.

I might not be the richest man in ten years time - but it's quite nice to know my power is coming from a mountain stream on National Trust land somewhere!

https://www.goodenergy.co.uk/

 

[Adam9453]

I take your point Phil but I have seen many misrepresentations so I always advise people to do their own calculations.
Estimated readings are another bugbear of mine, the calculations should be based on actual reads as otherwise they could be overestimating your kWh usage which could skew the calculation if say an alternative tariff had a higher kWh rate but a lower standing charge.
If everything is calculated out on the same (actual) usage figures then you get a true representation of which tariff is cheaper.
Most people don't appreciate how many mistakes suppliers make, one of my roles at the consultancy was historical auditing suppliers invoices to find errors in the customer favour so I could retrieve them for a share in the credit obtained. In nine months I managed to source a good six figure sum back for my clients!!
My advice is don't trust a word they say and you'Il be better off for it

 

[DrPhill]

And a note of caution - I got caught by a clever trick....

The calculated price per month usually exceeds your consumption. You are credited in money for your overpayment. So you loan the utility company money and get no interest.

You can choose to pay less than the calculated amount per month. That might mean that you do not pay for all the units you use, but now your deficit is measured in units, not money. So when you get to the end of your fixed-price contract you have to pay for those units at the new, higher price.

Sweet, hey? Heads they win, tails you lose.

Sign up to 38 degrees - they are negotiating a good green deal.........

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I take your point Phil but I have seen many misrepresentations so I always advise people to do their own calculations.
Estimated readings are another bugbear of mine, the calculations should be based on actual reads as otherwise they could be overestimating your kWh usage which could skew the calculation if say an alternative tariff had a higher kWh rate but a lower standing charge.
If everything is calculated out on the same (actual) usage figures then you get a true representation of which tariff is cheaper.
Most people don't appreciate how many mistakes suppliers make, one of my roles at the consultancy was historical auditing suppliers invoices to find errors in the customer favour so I could retrieve them for a share in the credit obtained. In nine months I managed to source a good six figure sum back for my clients!!
My advice is don't trust a word they say and you'Il be better off for it

:lol: I work mine out on actual consumption and unit prices. I know that if I were on the tariff that my neighbour is in an identical bungalow I'd be paying nearly £450p.a. more. She can't be bothered to change - I assume her pension must be about £1500 an hour.

 

[woodenstx]

good reminder, I'm a month into being on the std tariff... need to sort that, will see who has the best cashback on quidco, or a hive offer etc

 

[morturn]

Martin Lewis at MoneySavingExpert.com has some great advice on saving money on utility’s etc.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilit ... lectricity

Always worth a read, I managed to save over £850.00 on gas and electric.

 

[skipdiver]

I review my tariff constantly and change once or twice a year. I never get one with penalty clauses for changing and will spend a bit of time on the phone negotiating the best deal with my supplier. It's amazing what they will offer when you tell them you are going elsewhere. It pays to be firm but polite and yes, it's a pain and some people can't be bothered, but i keep monitoring all my bills, not just energy. Insurances are also a bill to keep check of. A friend of mine was paying four times what i was because she has never changed hers, just accepted the yearly rises until i pointed out that a switch was simple and would save her a packet.

Going back to energy, as pointed out, the moneysavingexpert site is good and they have an energy saver club which i am a member of and it gives email alerts if your bill goes up by a set amount. They also negotiate block deals. Worth a look.